The Longest Flights in the World
Although long flights may sound like torture at first, they actually help improve passenger comfort by shortening the amount of time a flight lasts. After all, longer flights mean more time spent in the air and less on stops.
And thanks to the development of ultra long-haul aircraft, such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner, and the use of efficient great circle (often Polar) flight paths, these type of flights will become increasingly common in the future.
That’s why we have listed the longest flights both by distance and duration to give you a clearer picture of how far and fast you can go with a single flight. Keep in mind that these are average times and numbers may vary widely between flights due to weather conditions, wind patterns, ATC holds, etc.
Longest flights in the world by distance
October 11 is the date set for the return of Singapore Airlines Flight 21 which had been discontinued since November 2013 after dominating the longest flight by distance title for almost a decade. The flight will use the powerful Airbus A350-900ULR to take 67 business and 94 economy class passengers from Newark, NJ to Singapore (a distance of 9,535 Nautical Miles) in less than 19 hours. Flight 21 closest competitor and current record holder is Qatar Airways QR 920 which travels the 9,011 NM that separate Doha, Qatar from Auckland, New Zealand. [tbody]
| Rank | Distance (NM) | Route | Airline | Flight | Aircraft |
| 1 | 9,535 | Newark – Singapore | Singapore Airlines | Flight 21 | Airbus A350-900ULR |
| 2 | 9.011 | Doha – Auckland | Qatar Airways | QR 920 | Boeing 777-200LR |
| 3 | 8,988 | Perth – London | Qantas | QF 9 | Boeing 787-9 |
| 4 | 8,819 | Auckland- Dubai | Emirates | EK 449 | Airbus A380 |
| 5 | 8,758 | Los Angeles – Singapore | United Airlines | UA 37 | Boeing 787-9 |
| 6 | 8,587 | Houston – Sydney | United Airlines | UA 101 | Boeing 787-9 |
| 7 | 8,569 | Sydney – Dallas | Qantas | QF 7 | Airbus A380 |
| 8 | 8,440 | San Francisco – Singapore | Singapore Airlines United Airlines | SQ 31 UA 1 | Airbus A350-900
Boeing 787-9 |
| 9 | 8,433 | Johannesburg – Atlanta | Delta Air Lines | DL 201 | Boeing 777-200LR |
| 10 | 8,385 | Abu Dhabi – Los Angeles | Etihad Airways | EY 171 | Boeing 777-300ER |
Longest flights in the world by duration
Flights can also be measured by duration, with the longest one also being Singapore Airlines Flight 21, which is scheduled to last one hour more than its closest competitor. United Airlines flight UA 37 connects Los Angeles to Singapore and is the current record holder using Boeing 787-9 aircraft to reach their destination in an average time of 17 hours and 21 minutes. However, flight UA 37 is scheduled to be discontinued by October 27, where it will be replaced by San Francisco as its place of Departure.
| Rank | Duration (Hours) | Route | Airline | Flight | Aircraft |
| 1 | 18:38 | Newark – Singapore | Singapore Airlines | Flight 21 | Airbus A350-900ULR |
| 2 | 17:21 | Los Angeles – Singapore | United Airlines | UA 37 | Boeing 787-9 |
| 3 | 17:20 | Perth – London | Qantas | QF 9 | Boeing 787-9 |
| 4 | 17:17 | Doha – Auckland | Qatar Airways | QR 920 | Boeing 777-200LR |
| 5 | 17:07 | Houston – Sydney | United Airlines | UA 101 | Boeing 787-9 |
| 6 | 16:57 | San Francisco – Singapore | Singapore Airlines United Airlines | SQ 31 UA 1 | Airbus A350-900
Boeing 787-9 |
| 7 | 16:47 | Sydney – Dallas | Qantas | QF 7 | Airbus A380 |
| 8 | 16:34 | Auckland – Dubai | Emirates | EK 449 | Airbus A380 |
| 9 | 16:27 | Toronto – Manila | Philippine Airlines | PR 119 | Boeing 777-300 |
| 10 | 16:11 | Jeddah – Los Angeles | Saudia | SV 41 | Boeing 777-300 |
Longest flights out of Fort Myers (RSW) Airport
Southwest Florida International Airport’s longer flights connects Fort Myers with most of the East Coast and Great Lakes Region. The exception to this being the three transoceanic flights which are serviced by Eurowings and link Southwest Florida with Munich, Cologne, and Dusseldorf in Germany. The longest of these flights departs from Franz Josef Strauss Airport in Munich aboard an Airbus A330-200 aircraft and arrives in Fort Myers 9 hours and 50 minutes later.
| Rank | Duration (Hours) | Destination | Airline |
| 1 | 09:50 | Munich MUC | Eurowings |
| 2 | 09:30 | Cologne CGN | Eurowings |
| 3 | 09:05 | Dusseldorf DUS | Eurowings |
| 4 | 04:15 | Denver DEN | Frontier Airlines
United Airlines Southwest Airlines |
| 5 | 04:07 | Colorado Springs COS | Frontier Airlines |
| 6 | 03:39 | Minneapolis MSP | Delta Air Lines
Frontier Airlines Spirit Airlines Sun Country Airlines Southwest Airlines |
| 7 | 03:33 | Omaha OMA | Frontier Airlines |
| 8 | 03:21 | Montreal YUL | Air Canada |
| 9 | 03:15 | Ottawa YOW | WestJet |
| 10 | 03:09 | Chicago ORD | American Airlines
Frontier Airlines Spirit Airlines United Airlines |